LLG Blog

Letter of Instructions

Make your thoughts crystal clear to your family

Generally, every estate plan requires a will, but this main attraction may be complemented by other documents, like a letter of instructions. The letter, unlike a valid will, isn’t legally binding, but can be valuable to surviving family members.

If you haven’t done so already, draft a letter of instructions and, most important, make sure that others know where and how to locate it.

The basic elements

Although the content can vary from person-to-person, one of the main purposes of a letter of instructions is to provide details on final wishes that haven’t been covered in the will. Think of the letter as a way to fill in some of the “gaps” or resolve matters left open to interpretation.
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Beware of the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax

Thanks to recent tax law changes, most families can avoid liability for federal estate and gift taxes. However, there’s a lesser-known tax whammy that can hit wealthy individuals without warning: the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. As its name implies, the GST tax generally applies to transfers that “skip” a generation.

Nevertheless, with astute estate tax planning, including the use of a generous lifetime gift tax exemption, you may able to sidestep any dire consequences under the GST tax, or at the least minimize its impact.

History of the GST Tax

The genesis of the GST tax goes back to the 20th century.
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7 Deadly Estate Planning Sins

According to literature, the "seven deadly sins” are lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy and pride. Although individuals may be guilty of these from time to time, other types of “sins” can be fatal to an estate plan if you’re not careful. Here are seven transgressions to avoid.

Sin #1: You don’t create an estate plan. The first estate planning sin is the most basic.
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Estate Planning Pitfall

You Haven’t Addressed Pets in your Estate Plan

Is your pet like a member of the family? If so, you may want to revise your estate plan in the event that your pooch or feline outlives you, just like other family members. The optimal approach may be to use a so-called “pet trust.”

Pet trusts have been around for decades, but they’ve been gaining in popularity the last few years. Minnesota recently became the last state in the union to approve these arrangements. Now, a pet trust can be established anywhere in the country.
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Thinking about a Roth IRA Conversion?

Now may be the Ideal Time

Roth IRAs offer significant financial and estate planning benefits. If you have a substantial balance in a traditional IRA and are considering converting it to a Roth IRA, there may be no better time than now. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduces individual income tax rates through 2025. By making the conversion now, the TCJA both enhances the benefits of a Roth IRA and reduces the cost of converting.

Roth IRA Estate Planning Benefits

The main difference between traditional and Roth IRAs is the timing of income taxes.
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IDGT: THIS TRUST IS SUPPOSED TO "FAIL"

Trusts come in all shapes and sizes. However, from an income tax perspective, there are basically two types of trusts that are funded with assets: grantor trusts and nongrantor trusts. As the name implies, the earnings of a grantor trust are taxed directly to the grantor — the person establishing the trust — while a nongrantor trust entity pays the tax owed on the trust’s earnings.

So you might be surprised to learn about a variation that’s purposely designed to fail the grantor trust rules and result in income being taxed to the grantor. Appropriately enough, it’s called the “intentionally defective grantor trust” (IDGT).
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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY?

No one likes to think about being incapacitated, but the threat is quite real. According to recent statistics, about one out of every nine people are affected by Alzheimer’s disease, while roughly half of the population has at least one risk factor for stroke. Don’t think that you’re immune.

This raises some troubling thoughts about how your personal and financial affairs will be handled in the event you’re incapacitated. If you haven’t already done so, address the possibility as part of a comprehensive estate plan.
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EXECUTORS AND TRUSTEES

The name game.....
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